profess
v.to state something officially or publicly, especially something you believe to be true. You use this when you want to show that you are committed to a specific idea or job.
v.to state or declare something formally or publicly; to claim to possess a particular quality or belief. Often used in formal or academic contexts to indicate a formal declaration of status or intent.
“He professes to be a loyal supporter of the team.”
“The candidate professes to have no interest in the position, though she applied for it last year.”
“While he professes to be a pacifist, his recent investments in military technology suggest a more complex and pragmatic set of priorities.”
“She also called Trump’s threat to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America “not very neighbourly.” “In 2017, professing not to understand the president might have passed for candour,” Bradford said.”
“For graduates pessimistic about AI’s implications for the labor market, claims professing its value feel inauthentic.”
From Old French professer, and its source, the participle stem of Latin profitērī, from pro- + fatērī (“to confess, acknowledge”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.